A federal jury found an ex-nurse at an Oregon women’s prison guilty of sexually assaulting nine female detainees.
Tony Daniel Klein, 38, of Clackamas County, was convicted on Tuesday of 17 counts of depriving women of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment through sexual assault, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, stated, “Tony Klein used his position of authority to prey on women incarcerated who were in a particularly vulnerable position.” Further, he convinced his victims they could not resist or report his abuse.
Additionally, Klein was convicted of four counts of perjury.
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The DOJ stated that court documents revealed Klein worked as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon, between 2010 and January 2018. During his tenure, Klein frequently interacted with female detainees who required medical care or served as orderlies in the prison’s medical unit.
During the two-week trial, 17 women testified that Klein inappropriately caressed them during medical appointments or while they cleaned the prison infirmary, with some adding that he forced them to have sexual relations. Other women stated that they feared repercussions if they rejected his advances.
According to the DOJ, Klein used his “position of power” as a medical provider to routinely “manufacture reasons” to be alone with female inmates in medical rooms, janitor closets, and behind privacy curtains.
According to the DOJ, many of Klein’s victims feared retribution if they fought back or reported his behavior because he “made it clear” that no one would believe them.
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, stated, “No woman incarcerated in a jail or prison should be subjected to sexual assault at the hands of facility employees.” “Abuses of power and authority such as this, in which the defendant used his position as a physician to satisfy his own sexual desires, will not be tolerated, and justice will be pursued,”
Klein, who has denied committing sexual assault, did not testify during the trial. In October, when he is sentenced, he could face life in prison.
His attorneys, Amanda Alvarez Thibeault and Matthew McHenry asserted that he was the victim of a scheme by women in custody to obtain monetary settlements from the state.
Following the verdict, they reiterated their belief that he was innocent.
